Been on a Disney Cruise w/High Functioning Special needs child? About This Page:

[Goofy_Girl]

I'm a single mom due to take a 7 day cruise with my 2 little ones (10 & 5) in mid January. This is my 3rd cruise and their first. None of us have been on DCL. My 10yr old has Asperger's Disorder (a high functioning form of autism). He attends regular 5th grade classes and I don't really expect problems, but I'm not sure if this is something that, after disclosed, would discount him from being in kids programs etc...

[applejenn]

We took a disney cruise, and my oldest was in the kids program, now he isnt special needs, but I dont believe it would eliminate him from participating especially if your son is in regular classes, but that is my thought on it. If it does there are othr things to do as well. I too am a single mom and we had a blast. You should see if the cruise line has a special needs reservation specialist maybe they would know.

[JoanW]

He will be fine. He may not want to always go to the kids club, but you never know. If he doesn't there are lots of other things onboard, movies, ping pong, the nightly shows, other family activities. Just check the navigator to see what's available each day. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[Goofy_Girl]

Thank you both! I'm both excited and nervous--wanting the kids to love cruising as much as I!

[iamgrumpy]

I hope you have a great time and i'm sure he will like it a lot [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[Marv]

My son was 11 when we did the disney cruise. (We had never done any cruises before this.) He has ADHD/early onset bipolar and many characteristics of Asperger's, with the social skills, although not formally diagnosed. At the time we cruised, he was having a reaction (increased irritability) to his meds but we didn't want to change right before the trip because there's no knowing what can happen with new meds. We even considered not cruising, I was so worried. I let the staff know all this and they were wonderful. Being his social skills aren't up to his age level, they even offered to let him go in the younger group, but I wanted to try the 10-12 year old group just to see. He did fine, with the exception of the transition to come with us at the end of the evening to go to bed. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] They just discreetly would look the other way when DS started being oppositional with us.

One thing I did, because I was worried that he'd automaticaaly have the "check yourself out of the club" opportunity, was to go on the boards to see if I could find him a "buddy". There wasn't anyone on the PP boards with kids the same age but someone suggested going to the DIS boards. I found several people who were interested in finding kids for the their kids to know ahead of time. I "clicked" with a couple of the Mom's (i.e. they had values similar to mine like kids needed to leave club in the evening by 11 pm, no going into staterooms with other kids when they checked themselves out, etc.). Then we had our kids email each other to get to know each other. We set up a meeting time at the arcade on the first day, so the boys could get to meet each other before actually checking into the clubs that first evening. We figured it'd be nice to recognize the face! They became buddies and would hang out in the club together and sometimes would leave the club if they didn't like the activity. For example, if the club was going out of the club to play basketball or whatever. DS needed to notify me that he was leaving and check in every hour, which would have been hard for him to remember, but being the friend had the same rules, it reminded him. It was also fun for me to get to know some new ladies and have someone to share the excitement as the time before the trip came! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] I also found buddies for my other son, then 7 years old. He is typically developing but was a little nervous about the whole seperation thing, so having someone he "knew" ahead of time was great.

Sorry that got so long. In a nutshell, write everything on the form you think they need to know. They are great!!! I've never been less worried about my DS. Both of my DS's loved the kid's clubs and it was very nice for my husband and I to have some time together. (We went to WDW and vacationed before the cruise.) As a single Mom, I think you will enjoy some "me" time knowing your kids are safe and happy - as well as together time with your kids. We had certain parts of the day that was required family time and then the rest of the time, the kids could be in the clubs or page us at any time if they wanted us to come and get them. It was fun to spend some one to one time with the kids, too. Sometimes one son would call to come out of the clubs while the other one stayed in. For us, it really was the best of both worlds.

Feel free send me a private message if you have any other concerns or questions about your son on the cruise. I love to talk Disney. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[stonewall]

Please also use the "search" feature at the top of the page and go back as far as you want- there is a lot of information on this topic. Have a great time!

[Happymommy]

We've been planning on going on a Disney cruise in 2008. My 6yo son has been diagnosed with Asperger's. He also is in regular classes, with very little problems. I'm going to put him in the Kids Club-- if he wants to. I know he wants to, because the computer lab (and stingray adventure) is all he talks about.

[katspjs]

Tyler has Non Verbal Learning Disorder (off shoot of Aspbergers) and loved the club. If there was something he didn't want to do I just had him have them page me and I would come and get him. There's lots to do outside the clubs/labs as well as Joan mentioned.

Have a great time!

[mytinkerbelles]

When we booked our cruise back in April 06, my DD4 at booking time, has autism (PDD), she was not toilet trained. I contacted them about the kids club and they would make an exception with the not being toilet trained because of her special needs. The only exception they would not make would be the pool, which is understandable. Now she is 5 and is toilet trained, but good to know incase we have a set back. We set sail in 3.5 months!